Kilmore and District WW1 Soldiers and Nurses

by Heather Knight, 2002

The following is a compilation of district soldiers and nurses from local school and church Honour rolls; the Kilmore Shire Honour Roll (in the Memorial Hall), the Kilmore War Memorial (in Hudson Park), Pyalong Shire and the Glenaroua Public Hall Honour rolls and newspaper reports in the Kilmore Advertiser.

Compiling this list has been no easy task, fraught with numerous problems. In most cases the soldiers are recorded with only initials and not their full names. As was the custom, young men were often known by their second name and consequently their second initial is often recorded instead of their first; on other rolls their first initial may be used, or both. With only initials to go on, it makes it difficult to reconcile those on one Honour roll with another. This has made identifying full names extremely difficult. Over time, this has caused names to be inaccurately recorded and published, for instance, inKilmore On the Sydney Road, C.V. Gronn has transformed into C.V. Grant, J.C. Bowers is now J.O. Bowers and S.E. Crane has become S.R. Crane .

The rolls are full of inconsistencies and inaccuracies and it is somewhat a puzzle as to why some names are on some rolls and not others. On the Kilmore Shire Honour Roll, F. O’Dwyer is recorded. On the Kilmore War Memorial in Hudson Park, the name of F. Dwyer is engraved in stone. The AWM has a record of a Francis O’Dwyer of Kilmore being killed in action. F. O’Dwyer and F. Dwyer are most likely the same person.

Francis Patrick Anderson’s service and death are recorded on the Kilmore Shire and State School Honour Rolls. He is probably the same man recorded on the Kilmore War Memorial as J. P. Anderson.

Charles William Dau of Wandong, is recorded on the Kilmore War Memorial but he is C.W. Daw on the Kilmore Shire Honour Roll. Others, such as Christopher Jenkin or Alfred Teakle, also from Wandong, do not have their names on either the Kilmore War Memorial or the Kilmore Shire Honour Roll. Their deaths are recorded by the Kilmore Church of England Honour Roll. William Charles Stute of Bylands is recorded on the Kilmore War Memorial but not the Kilmore Shire Honour Roll.

Albert Edward Knight manages to make both the War Memorial and Kilmore Shire Honour Roll but the Honour Roll fails to note that he died. M.F. Ryan’s death is remembered by the Kilmore War Memorial but he fails to make the Kilmore Honour Roll. And so the inconsistencies and errors continue.

During 1918 and 1919 there was a great deal of dissatisfaction with the emerging Kilmore Shire Honour Roll. The Kilmore Advertiser complained in February 1918 that the roll was “far from complete” and that “there are many names left off” and that some on it “have never gone to the front”. Another contentious issue was that the roll had the flags of Britain, France and Belgium on it, but not the Australian flag. It was described as a “sorry production”, without credibility. There were demands that the whole project be scrapped and started afresh. It seems that some of these issues may have been dealt with as the roll, now housed in the Kilmore Memorial Hall, does not have any flags on it at all. However, the inaccuracies were obviously not all dealt with. This roll was unveiled by General Sir William R. Birdwood in April 1920.

This is considered by no means complete or accurate; it is presented in the hope that more information will be forthcoming. Over time a more complete picture of Kilmore and District soldiers will hopefully emerge. It would be most satisfying to have full names, a photo, family details, war service and some knowledge of life after the war. If we are to acknowledge the great sacrifice these young men and women made for their country, the least we can do is to record them with some style and with accuracy.

Additional Information

by Grahame Thom, February 2015

Since Heather Knight compiled her original index of names on memorials and honour boards within the Kilmore district in 2002, the National Archives of Australia (NAA) has made available online, the records of World War One service men and women. The Australian War Memorial has also published additional information including some photographs. This has enabled further information to be added to the original index as well as the clarification of many entries, and additionally, many more names that have not been recorded on local memorials and honour rolls.

The main source has been the NAA using their advance search facility, where a search can be conducted of a place of birth and enlistment. This makes it easier to relate the results to the original index.

Where against a name there is only a NAA reference it means this person was not on Heather’s original index, i.e., this personʼs name does not appear on a local memorial or honour roll or there is a spelling issue.

Where against a name only references to memorials and/or honour rolls are listed, it means the person could not be identified on NAA or AWM websites. This does not necessarily mean the person did not enlist as not all service men and women are mentioned online.

Where after NAA the word Depot appears, then either the person was discharge unfit after a medical examination or applied to enlist too late in 1918 to be accepted.

Over the period July 2014 to late 2018 the Society, in conjunction with other local groups, is publishing short profiles each week in the North Central Review each week, recognising the contribution made by local men and women who volunteered for service in World War One.

As well as being published in the North Central Review these profiles will be progressively published on this web site and linked to the names in the index below.

Included on memorials and honour rolls in the area covered by the index below are men who are now claimed to have lived outside of Kilmore and district, that is the southern area of the Shire of Mitchell, excluding, Upper Plenty, Beveridge, Wallan, Heathcote Junction, Wandong, Clonbinane, and Broadford. These men can be identified by their location included under District, ie, Broadford, Wandong, and several of the Bylands names are on the Wallan memorial.

There could be names of local men and women who do not appear on this list. There are probably errors in the index below. As the Society prepares profiles it can be expected that there will be corrections to this index. If a reader can help with additional information or any corrections please contact the Society.

On 25 April 2016 Grahame Thom was the main speaker at the Anzac Day Service at the Kilmore War Memorial. Attached is a copy of his speech.

Each individual is listed alphabetically by their Name, followed by their Defence Reference No. and District (where known), Source codes and Comments where applicable.

Help Wanted

Can you help identify those soldiers known only by surname and initials? Are you able to supply further information? Can you add the name of a soldier or nurse? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Note: Since the original list was compiled and published in 2002 on the Kilmore Historical Society’s website, the Wandong History
Group has been formed and is now researching Wandong and district men and women who enlisted in World War One.